


12 Days of MShenko Christmas Drabbles

by ArcticLucie



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Eggnog, M/M, Minor Angst, Snow, Snowball Fights, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, christmas collection, mShenko, really just a huge christmas explosion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:41:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5428292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticLucie/pseuds/ArcticLucie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1) Sending/receiving a Christmas card(s)<br/>2) Hosting/attending a holiday party<br/>3) Getting put on the naughty list<br/>4) Showing off holiday style<br/>5) Sharing/starting a holiday tradition<br/>6) Family<br/>7) Christmases Past: Memories<br/>8) Snow day<br/>9) Holiday baking<br/>10) Writer’s choice<br/>11) Christmas Eve (nsfw)<br/>12) Christmas Day/exchanging gifts</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Small Steps & Giant Leaps

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting 12 MShenko ficlets/drabbles on my [tumblr](http://www.jucielucie.tumblr.com) to count down to Christmas and thought I'd post them here as well. It's mostly holiday fluff, but there's some feels too. Mostly canon-compliant with an Earthborn sole survivor Sheploo. And a few (maybe all) are set in my [Priority: Noisy Kids](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3492767) 'verse.
> 
> This first one is kind of angsty, but the rest will be more relationship/fluff driven. Takes place when Shepard is in Alliance custody before ME3, pre-relationship.

Kaidan wasn’t sure what possessed him to buy a Christmas card for his former Commander, but he had. They hadn’t spoken since their falling out on Horizon and he wasn’t sure John— _Shepard_ , the time for first names had long since passed—would even get it.

Maybe Shepard would tear it up or flat out refuse it. Or maybe he’d use it for target practice, but Kaidan didn’t think he’d be allowed near firearms in the brig. Whatever the card stock’s fate, he didn’t have high hopes for a welcomed reception.

He’d been out shopping for a gift for his mother when it caught his eye, and it seemed fitting enough.

On the front was a picture of Earth taken from the Moon’s orbit sometime in the twentieth century, if his memory served him. The blue and white orb stood out against the blackness of space and was doctored to look like it was an ornament hanging from an evergreen.

Underneath were the words “Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,” and on the inside it read, “May the New Year be filled with small steps and giant leaps.”

One of their missions together on the SR-1 had taken place on the Moon. He remembered it fondly—minus the killer robots of course—and often wondered how much of their time alone together had been orchestrated by each other and how much was pure happenstance.

But that line of thinking always led him down an unknowable road that was still too painful to travel.

Once the rogue VI’s were shut down, John, _Shepard_ had insisted on taking a little joyride in the Mako. Shepard was driving, so needless to say, they busted a few tires when they careened into crater. While Wrex and Garrus fought over how to change them out, he and Shepard took a moonwalk.

The scenery was beautiful…probably. Kaidan was too busy sneaking furtive glances in the Commander’s direction while he talked about his childhood. Shepard told him that when he was living on the streets, before joining the Reds, Luna had somehow become his best friend, his nightlight, and his security blanket.

He admitted that it was a little out of the ordinary, but he didn’t have anybody else to talk to at the time, no family or friends, so he’d lie on his back in an abandoned lot or on top of a parking structure at night and confess all his sins and secrets to the stars, to Luna.

She knew his hopes and dreams, his biggest fears. He shed tears when he’d tell her about his parents and laugh when he recited jokes he heard from other streets kids. He had trouble falling asleep without sending a silence greeting her way, and that continued long after he had a roof to sleep under.

Kaidan had never been to the moon before, and it turned out that neither had Shepard. He’d felt so honored to be able to share that moment with him, to be chosen for the ground team, and he remembered how content and at peace Shepard had been when they returned to the Normandy, back to the chase.

He’d never forget that day, and perhaps the card was some sort of subconscious attempt at mending fences, a nod to what might’ve been and a reminder of what they used to be.

He spent three days mulling over something to write in it, something that couldn’t be misconstrued as placating or passive aggressive. In the end, he settled for just his signature because he wasn’t sure how burned their bridge actually was. If there was a chance it was still standing, he hoped they’d get the chance to cross it, be it with small steps or giant leaps.

As he dropped the card in the mailbox, he sent a silent request up to Luna that, at the very least, it wouldn’t the end of their story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Kaidan reluctantly attend a holiday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic takes place in my [Priority: Noisy Kids](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3492767) ‘verse. There’s just a brief mention of the kids in it, nothing major if you aren’t familiar.

Shepard tugged at the too-tight collar of his dress shirt once they were settled in the back seat of their chauffeured skycar. “I still don’t see why we have to go.”

“Honey, you’re the Human Councilor and it’s the _Council’s_ holiday party, of course we have to go,” Kaidan said, placing his hand on Shepard’s knee and giving it a gentle squeeze.

He knew Shepard despised parties like this. They were all about press releases and shaking hands with people that were trying to kiss his ass in hopes that he’d help out their cause. If there was anything Shepard hated more than politicians, it was a kiss ass, but he was excepted to be there along side the rest of the Council.

“We could’ve said one of the kids was sick,” Shepard tried, covering Kaidan’s hand with his own. 

He turned his palm up and they interlaced their fingers, goose bumps tracking up his arm when Shepard’s thumb ran over the skin of his wrist. 

“We’d both rather be home with the kids, right now, but it’s just another part of the job.”

Ash had just started teething and was more clingy than usual and Max was going through some weird mini-Krogan puberty thing. The last thing they needed was her ‘escaping’ to go hunt for fish in the lake of the Presidium again. And the twins had recently discovered their inborn Salarian love of science and started doing all kinds of experiments, some supervised and others not so much. It was a dangerous time in the Shepard-Alenko household.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have a duty to the galaxy,” Shepard droned.

“Make you a deal…if after an hour, and several glasses of good Asari wine, you’re still miserable, I’ll fake a migraine and we’ll go. How’s that sound?”

Shepard leaned over and kissed his temple, “What do you get out of this deal?”

“A night out with my wonderful husband,” Kaidan winked. He loved the kids and all their chaos, but it was nice to have some time to themselves every now and then. 

“Is that all?” Shepard asked, voice flirty and accompanied by a cheeky smirk.

Kaidan pulled his hand free and ran it through John’s hair, delighted in his abrupt intake of breath. Then he twisted, lips brushing the shell of Shepard’s ear when he whispered, “And the sooner we get home, the sooner I get to strip that suit off you with my teeth.”

Shepard pinned him with a heated gaze when he straightened up, and for a split second he considered telling the driver to take them to the nearest hotel instead. But he resisted.

They pulled up to the banquet hall and walked down a red carpet lined with flashing lights and more reporters than either cared to see in one place. They smiled and waved for the cameras, mingled with the guests, and did their best to play the part, but in the end, Kaidan didn’t have to fake a migraine. The lights and music triggered a real one.

“Take me home,” he had said before burying his face in his husband’s neck not even an hour after arrival.

Luckily, it was only a minor one and he was back to full capacity by morning. But he was glad they went when he turned on the news to find vids of the two of them on every feed. Sure he was biased, but he thought they both look mighty fine decked out in suits despite them both pushing fifty.

And later that night, he’d make Shepard put his back on just so he could take it off of him properly.


	3. Krogan Eggnog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting put on the naughty list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is preslash and takes place on SR-1.

Kaidan was a heavyweight when it came to alcohol. With his metabolism, he had to drink a lot to become intoxicated. That was why Shepard was surprised at how lit he was when he finally made his way into the officer’s lounge.

He hadn’t planned on joining the party. He was too drained after his long conference call with the Council explaining why representatives from Noveria were having a fit after the Peak 15 incident. But then Joker had mentioned eggnog and he figured he deserved a drink as a reward for not hanging up on them this time.

He could hear the music all the way down the hall, but nothing could’ve prepared him for what he walked on. Everyone was dancing and singing, even the nonhuman crewmembers, and they all had some kind of drink in their hand. But what caught his eye was the straight-laced, by the books, “I’ve taken up enough of your time, Commander,” brown-eyed Lieutenant dancing half naked on the couch while the crowd cheered him on.

Kaidan was serenading them all with pretty raunchy version of “Santa Baby,” and he really had no right to sound as seductive as he did. The way he was moving his hips had all kinds of inappropriate thoughts racing through Shepard’s sex-starved brain, and when he noticed Shepard, the smile that broke across those plump lips was blinding. No one would ever be able to prove that it made his heart skip a beat.

“Shhhepard,” Kaidan slurred. “Y-you wanna s-sing with me?”

Some of the crew had sobered up when they realized their CO had walked in, but everyone turned their attention on him when Kaidan pointed out his presence.

“What did you do to Kaidan?” he asked his merry crew, quirking a brow with suspicion as he looked around the room at all the guilty faces.

“ ‘S jus’ eggnog, con-com…Shepard.”

“It might be Krogan eggnog,” Ashley admitted, scrunching up her nose.

“What the hell is Krogan eggnog?”

“It’s like eggnog but stronger,” Wrex said like it was obvious, and of course it was.

Kaidan jumped off the couch when Liara turned down the music only to grab his shirt and begin swinging it over his head as he danced terribly to whatever song was still playing in his poor drunk brain.

“I’m starting to think we actually broke him,” Garrus said sounding far too amused.

“Sheeepard, you wan’ some egg…eggnog? ‘S delicious. You should have—” Before Kaidan could finish, he bent over and emptied his stomach all over Shepard’s boots.

“Oh come on! These are brand new,” Shepard moaned.

“Sssorry Commander,” Kaidan said, suddenly looking very tired as he wiped his mouth and wobbled on his feet.

“I’m gonna go make Kaidan some coffee, and whoever gave him the nog is going to shine my boots until I can see my reflection in them. I’ll let you decide as a group who gets to clean the puke off the floor.”

“Dammit,” he heard Joker whine.

After toeing off his boots, careful not to get any sick on his socks, he looped Kaidan’s arm over his shoulder and started to lead him towards the mess. He was only mostly successful in not enjoying the closeness.

“And I’m putting all of you on the naughty list!” he yelled back just as the door to the lounge slid back into place.

“Even me?” Kaidan asked with a little hiccup, his big brown eyes looking glossy from the liquor and far too innocent for all the dirty connotations the question brought to Shepard’s attention.

“I think I’ll give you a pass this time, LT.”

Shepard chose to ignore him, blaming the fact he was drunk off his ass, when he replied, “I wouldn’t mind being on it with you.”


	4. Enkindle-mas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Kaidan have an argument over sweaters.

“You can’t be serious,” Kaidan scoffed, shifting his weight onto his back foot as he folded his arms across his chest. He gave Shepard a reproachful shake of his head as his eyes swept over the hideous excuse for a sweater his boyfriend was holding up for him.

“Dead serious.”

“John, I am not going to be caught dead wearing _that_ ,” he said, waving his hands around before planting them on his hips.

Shepard’s arms dropped as his volume rose, “You promised me we’d be in matching outfits, Kaidan. So I bought us matching outfits.”

“I remember what I said, but that monstrosity does not constitute an ‘outfit’,” Kaidan contested, using air quotes to drive his point home.

It was true; he had agreed to matching outfits for the impromptu Normandy holiday party they were hosting in Shepard’s apartment. Although, ‘agreed’ might be too strong of a word, especially when one factored in the way Shepard had used guerilla tactics by asking him about it when they were deep in the thralls of a pretty fantastic post-orgasmic high.

“They’ll be here soon, just put on the damn sweater, Alenko.”

“I am not wearing that Commander,” he reiterated as he stomped towards Shepard who had thrown the sweater on the bed in his anger.

Shepard’s eyes went dark as Kaidan stepped into his personal space, his voice going low and eerily even, “You’re wearing it, Kaidan, if I have to put it on you myself.”

Kaidan matched his tone and his expression, “I’d like to see you try.”

He yelped in surprise when Shepard threw him on the bed, but he wasn’t complaining when they began working out their aggression on top of that ugly sweater. Shepard had always been pretty damn good at pushing his buttons. _All_ of his buttons.

They were still naked when the first guest arrived—leave it to Traynor to show up early.

In his haste to get dressed, Kaidan threw on the first thing his fingers landed on, which just so happened to be that god-awful sweater, red and green striped with a picture of Blasto in all his bright pink Hanar glory wearing a Christmas hat and multicolored ornaments in each tentacle. It was just so…tacky. Not to mention, it hurt his eyes to look at.

He spent the next thirty minutes listening to everyone snickering as they read the words, “This one wishes you a Merry Enkindle-mas,” when they came through the door.

Shepard would make it up to him later.


	5. Paper Lanterns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Kaidan partake in some holiday traditions.

The Alenko Orchard was beautiful covered in a blanket of snow. The apple trees were barren but dusted with powder and the tracks they made the previous day were paved over with a fresh layer that glistened in the early afternoon light making it sparkle as sunbeams bounced off the snow crystals.

Shepard was used to the coldness of space, but this would be his first white Christmas and he had a feeling Kaidan was even more excited about it than he was, assuring him that he’d love all the Alenko family’s festivities.

The first day, they went to a nearby Christmas tree farm and chopped down their own tree. He was glad Kaidan had vetoed him when he insisted he’d be warm enough in just his hoodie, otherwise he would’ve froze to death. His arm was a little sore the next day from his turn at sawing on the trunk, but it had been a good day overall.

The second day was spent getting to know the family, building snowmen, good food, and a rather intense snowball fight. George, Kaidan’s father, had been KIA during the war along with one of his uncles, but there were grandparents and cousins and second cousins running around; the house was almost bursting at the seams. Someone was always in the kitchen cooking and bathroom time was pretty limited, but he was used to that sort of thing thanks to his years living on ships.

That night, they helped decorate the tree and sparser parts of the house. Shepard had a hard time keeping his eyes off Kaidan as he stretched and bent, his body contorting in all sorts of wonderful ways, as he placed ornaments and strung up garland. He got caught once or twice by Kaidan’s mother and turned nearly as red as the sweater she made him, but that didn’t deter him from looking as much as it probably should have.

They took part in Kaidan’s personal favorite family tradition on Christmas Eve: the annual Paper Lantern Round Up. 

Once lunch had settled, they all converged on the huge wraparound porch to listen to Kaidan’s grandfather explain the rules. The stately man had spent the entire day prior hanging up bright red lanterns low in the trees to resemble apples. Today, they would break into teams and head out in search of them. 

Whoever had the most by the time dinner was ready would get a free pass from the cleanup of Christmas day as well as a nice cup of what Kaidan had testified to was the best hot chocolate ever made.

“How about our own wager?” Kaidan whispered while Grandpa Alenko went on and on about where the boundaries were.

Shepard shot him a sideways grin because yes, he’d like that quite a bit. “What’d you have in mind?”

“Whichever one of us finds the most gets a backrub before bed.”

Shepard scoffed, “That all you got, Major?”

Kaidan let out one of those quiet little chuckles that never failed to warm his heart even when it was close to freezing. “I thought the happy ending was implied.”

“It was. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

*

They ended up losing the grand prize by one lantern—Kaidan was quite upset about the hot chocolate—but Shepard promised him that there was always next year; they’d fought so hard for there not to be. Once the lights were turned down low, he made sure Kaidan honored their bet. And just because it was the season of giving, he was nice enough to return the favor.

They’d find out the next morning, thanks to all the sly looks they received over breakfast, just how thin those old farmhouse walls really were. And next year, they’d try to keep it down.


	6. Four First Christmases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Building a family, one Christmas at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also set in my Priority: Noisy Kids ‘verse, (although, I’m starting to think they all are).

Family was important to Shepard. Growing up without one had left a bitter hole in his heart that he was well aware of. Joining the Alliance had helped. He’d had brothers and sisters then, paternal and maternal figures to look up to, and people that had his back, that he would give his own life for. And for along time, he thought that was enough.

But something started to change when he met Kaidan.

It was slow, the way the tide moved in—at a gradual pace, every rolling wave a step forward—and every milestone they celebrated brought him one step closer to wanting a family, with him, with the man he knew would be the best father he could ever hope for. Kaidan had experience with family, had a father who taught him well and a mother who loved him unconditionally. That’s what John wanted for his children; he wanted Kaidan.

They didn’t talk about it during the war. Late nights were reserved for them, for being in the moment, for promises of making it to the other side of it all. John’s dying wish after firing the Crucible had been for Kaidan to move on, to find love again, and to experience the family he’d never get. But then he woke up, to a Christmas proposal nonetheless.

Then there was the wedding and rebuilding and John’s appointment to the Council. Everything was chaos and the ‘having kids’ talk never came up, never seemed right. He was content with Kaidan, with their tiny two-person family and Kaidan’s extended one that accepted him so easily into their hearts.

It was on another Christmas when Kaidan changed that. He was always making the big moves, taking initiative when the time was right, never before and never when it had stretched into too long. 

Shepard opened his last gift that year when they were alone, the one Kaidan had kept hidden in their room at the Orchard, and it brought tears to both their eyes. Inside was a tiny red stocking that had ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ embroidered on it.

The next year, they had Max, a three-year-old Krogan daughter who was just as stubborn as Shepard was. They butted heads a lot—literally and figuratively—but he loved her more than he could’ve ever imagined. She was beautiful and ornery and, more importantly, all theirs. Shepard, in an attempt at a peace offering, got her a fish for Christmas. She was always eyeing his and he hoped it would give them a chance to bond over a shared interest. Really it was Kaidan’s idea.

She liked fish all right; they turned out to be her favorite thing to eat. He really should’ve known better, fish were Grunt’s favorite too. His aquarium started to thin out after that, and he eventually stopped replacing the ones that went missing. She cost him a hobby, but she was worth it and then some.

A few years after that, they added the twins: two Salarian boys that he was sure were both smarter than him by the time their first Christmas came around. They were walking and talking and had demanded chemistry sets and Eezo. Kaidan vetoed the Eezo. Shepard should have vetoed the chemistry sets. That one cost him his eyebrows, but Kaidan assured him he pulled it off. He didn’t, but they were worth it too.

This year was Ashley’s first Christmas. Baby Ash with her propensity for slobbering and gumming on everything she could get her chubby little hands on. He thought it would be safe going with a present especially marketed for Human babies, a Blasto teething ring. Turned out she was more fascinated by the bow it came with.

And Grunt. He had a habit of crashing their Christmases drunk on Krogan eggnog. He’d always offer Kaidan some after hearing tales of his ability to somewhat tolerate the horrid stuff, but thankfully, he always declined. 

Grunt’s first had been on the SR-2 while it still flew a Cerberus flag. But he was so blinded by Krogan blood rage at the time that he didn’t remember anything but the horrible sweaters. For some reason, he loved those, and the uglier the better. They always bought him one for Christmas.

“I think they all had too many Christmas cookies. Took Max three stories to fall asleep,” Kaidan sighed, flopping down on the couch next to him. He’d put the girls to bed while Shepard had taken the boys. Grunt was unsurprisingly passed out in the bathroom. They would get him a blanket on their way to bed.

John wrapped his arms around his husband and drew him close, “Do I tell you enough how amazing you are with our children?”

Kaidan chuckled his self-deprecating laugh, “Only every day.”

“Thank you, love.”

“For what?”

“For this, for giving me a family, for being an even better father than I could’ve imagined you to be, for making me a better one that I could’ve dreamed.”

Kaidan leaned in and gave him a sweet lingering kiss on the lips, “Couldn’t do it without you. Wouldn’t want to.” 

John smiled at him and kissed him right back. “Merry Christmas, babe.”

“Merry Christmas...It’s been a pretty good one, huh?”

Shepard squeezed him tighter still, nuzzling into him as all the love in his heart nearly burst it like a balloon, “The best.”


	7. A Christmas Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaidan shares a sad Christmas memory.

Kaidan wasn’t sure where the memory came from, but it hit him like a streak of lightening, all his synapses firing at once to piece together a picture that had lain dormant for almost three decades. John gave him a quizzical look, his brow furrowing in a silent question as he lowered his datapad, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he let Kaidan work out whatever it was that was forming in his mind.

“What did you do for Christmas when you lived on the streets?” Kaidan asked.

Shepard didn’t talk much about his pre-Alliance past. Kaidan knew he wasn’t ashamed of it, but it wasn’t something he liked to dwell on. Thinking of the future was what got them both through the war, and they preferred to think of where they were going together as opposed to where they both began.

He watched every flicker of emotion that passed over John’s face as he collected his thoughts. And after a long pause, he gave his reply, “We, meaning me and some other street kids, tried to go to a soup kitchen once.” He smiled for the briefest of moments before his eyes turned cold and he scoffed out an incredulous laugh. “They wouldn’t allow us in without an adult.”

Kaidan felt his face slip into a frown.

“But the next year, I was maybe ten or so, we talked one of the friendlier vagabonds into pretending to be our father. We had to scrounge up some credits to buy him a bottle of cheap booze, but he agreed. It was the best meal I’d had all year, warm and filling. I think we even had real turkey. Almost made myself sick because my stomach wasn’t used to eating so much at once.”

Kaidan laid down his datapad on the couch and scooted a little closer to him, draping arms over Shepard’s shoulders as he kissed the corner of his mouth. “Do you remember what you were wearing?”

Shepard narrowed his eyes as he searched Kaidan’s face. Then he turned his head up, sinking back into his thoughts.

There had to have been dozens of soup kitchens open on Christmas day in Vancouver that year, and the possibility that they’d both been at the same one at the same time was remote, but he just had to know. “The reason I’m asking is because when I was thirteen, just before I was sent off to BAaT, my parents made me volunteer with them at a soup kitchen. And I just remembered this boy being there…with these hauntingly blue eyes and a scar on his…”

He hadn’t realized he was crying until Shepard reached up and wiped away a stray tear from his cheek. He had put up such a fuss about having to go that year, huffing and dragging his feet like a petulant child. Sure he was a stupid kid at the time—a hormonal teen with unstable biotic powers afraid of who he was—but to know that his husband had been on the other side of the serving line that day hit him a little harder than he was prepared for, a stark reminder of where they’d both come from, such different worlds.

Shepard pulled him onto his lap and kissed the cooling trail up his cheek from where the tear had trickled down. Kaidan was pressed against his chest and John’s steady breathing soon lulled him into a calmer state of mind.

“I was wearing this bright lime green jacket that was two sizes too big…Please tell me you didn’t see me in that thing.”

“I’m afraid I did,” Kaidan said, puffing out a watery chuckle, thick with shame as he wiped at his stinging eyes.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember you.”

“You wouldn’t have liked me back then…I was a spoiled brat who didn’t get it.”

“Well I like you now…I even love you.”

Kaidan straightened so he could look John in the eye, “I love you too, but it’s just so strange how a memory can sneak up on you like that. After all this time, everything we’ve been through, to remember that sliver of time where our paths had crossed. It’s just…I thought that such a bad Christmas and it didn’t even compare to yours.”

“Don’t do that, Kaidan, it’s apples and oranges. We both made it, we both changed and got through hard times. And we’re both here now. Our paths were different, but we still found our way to each other. That’s the important thing. Our Christmases together, the ones going forward that we get to enjoy together. Those are the ones we’ll remember in another thirty years.”

Shepard smiled fondly at him, a hand running up his arm to cup his cheek and pull him in for a tender kiss. And Kaidan let himself be dragged down into depths he never wanted to come up from, back into the present where he’d made peace with past demons.

He was right. Those were the kinds of Christmas memories he wanted to hit him out of the blue somewhere down the road, the ones they’ve spent together as a couple and will spend with their children celebration traditions at the Orchard and watching them open gifts around a tree, kissing under mistletoe and stupid Blasto sweaters.

“We should volunteer this year,” Shepard suggested, squeezing his thigh after they’d settled into snuggling on the couch in front of the fireplace. “You know, give back.”

Kaidan was looking forward to the day when his memories were saturated in the happiness of their life together and not the ghosts of Christmases past. But for now, he’d settle with being in the present. “Yeah…I’d like that.”


	8. Guiding Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ground team plays capture the flag with snowballs on Noveria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in a bit of a rush because I decided last minute to push back what I had for today to day 10. Sorry for the slightly corning ending. *Warning for mentions of blood but nothing violent or gory.

Shepard’s face stung where the snowball had just pelted him in the cheek. He wiped the melting ice off his face to the sound of Wrex’s low rumbling chuckle. “Oh it is on!” He sunk back down behind the bunker he and the rest of the blue team were huddled behind.

“Is that all you got, skipper?” Ash teased from across the field where her, Wrex, and Liara were hidden behind the red team’s snowy fortress.

“That’s what you call cover fire, guys?” Shepard hissed.

“I’m sorry, Commander, but Garrus got some snow in his boot and had a fit,” Kaidan explained.

“It was pretty funny,” Tali snickered.

Shepard groaned, “Can we please focus here? We have to get that flag or we’ll all be dressing up like reindeer.” The team huddled up and went over the plan once more.

“I’m not sure that’s going to work,” Garrus pointed out.

“It’ll work if you slackers would lay down some decent cover fire!”

“We’ll do our best,” Kaidan said.

Shepard convinced himself that the little flutter of his heart was due to adrenaline. “That’s all I ask,” he said as he began the countdown.

When he got to three, he jumped up and started running across the snowy field in zigzag patterns towards the red team’s base. This whole thing had been his idea down to the punishment for the losers, and the last thing he wanted to do was be Rudolph. They were stuck on Noveria for a few days until the Council could get some bureaucrats to help with the Peak 15 disaster, so he thought it would be a good idea to do some team building exercises.

He was starting to rethink that as he felt snowball after snowball hit him. Next time, he’d wear his armor and not just a hoodie.

“Cheap shot, LT!” he heard Ash yell amongst the muddled battle cries.

While Shepard distracted the red team, Tali snuck around the far side of their base. Liara spotted her at the last minute and the red team abandoned Shepard and turned their attention on her. Wrex got her right in the facemask with a snowball and a sheet of white momentarily blinded her. Garrus decided to dart across the field to avenge her, which left only Kaidan to guard the blue team’s base.

Before anyone knew what happened, Ashley was running across the field with the blue flag. As soon as she crossed into red territory, she won her team the game. That left Shepard, Kaidan, Garrus, and Tali as the losers and Wrex, Ash, and Liara the victors. Shepard really hated to lose.

“What the hell happened, Alenko?” Shepard asked, jogging back to their base. “Kaidan?” he called when the Lieutenant didn’t answer.

“Ouch, I think she broke my nose,” he finally answered, looking up at Shepard with watery eyes after he’d had jumped back over the barrier.

Kaidan was sitting in the snow holding a blood-soaked hand to his face when he found him. There were droplets of crimson staining the snow and a growing spot where blood was dripping down from his chin. Shepard hit his knees and searched for the medi-gel he’d brought just in case to stem some of the bleeding.

“I think we should get you back to the ship,” Shepard said once everyone had gathered around to check on him.

“Sorry, Alenko. I think I might’ve tossed you an elbow,” Ash said with a frown.

Shepard tried to ignore the chants of “Red team rules!” as he helped Kaidan back to the ship. Once in the medbay, Dr. Chakwas set his nose and applied a splint. “Nothing serious, but it might be swollen for awhile.”

“Well, Kaidan,” Shepard smirked as he thumped him on the back, “looks like you’re going to be Rudolph with that nose of yours.” 

He chose to ignore the way his chest tightened when Kaidan laughed, “Someone’s gotta light the way for you, Commander.”

He might not have realized it then among the sterile beds and bloodstained gauze, but there would come a day when Kaidan would be the only guiding light he’d ever need.


	9. Sous Chefs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard bakes cookies with the kids while Kaidan has a night out.

Shepard had no idea what he was thinking when he decided to get the kids to help him bake Christmas cookies. He thought it would be a nice surprise for Kaidan when he got home from his night out with Tali and Steve, one less thing on his list to do tomorrow. Shepard had had worse ideas, not many, but a few.

“Can I lick the bowl yet?” Max droned. She was sitting on a barstool at the island he was working at watching him scoop out batter onto some parchment. By his count, that was the sixth time she’d asked since they started.

“It’s not empty yet,” he said once again, scooping up another blob of peanut butter cookie dough. “Eat another egg.”

“She alweady had four,” Morty said. He was standing on a chair beside him in a little apron Kaidan had bought him, one of his horns covered by a small baker’s hat, looking every bit the sous chef he was. Sol had one too, but he didn’t like to wear it. Sol was the theorist, Morty was hands-on.

“Tattletale,” Max sneered.

“Am not!”

Before Shepard could launch into a lecture on respecting their siblings, the timer went off and Sol screeched, “They’re done!”

Shepard sat the bowl down and shooed the twins out of the way of the oven they had gathered in front of, “Alright, stand back. They’re going to be hot.” He reached in and grabbed the hot tray to put on the cooling rack. Then he turned around to find Max with her finger in the mixing bowl. “Hey, get out of there!” He swatted at her, but she’d already yanked her hand back smirking.

“Told you we needed more leveling ingwediant,” Sol said, and Shepard swore he rolled his little Salarian eyes.

He turned back to the cookies, the very _flat_ cookies, and sighed.

“Leavening,” Max corrected.

“Max, stop being such a Grinch,” Shepard warned, in his best fatherly voice.

“Dad said not to call me that anymore,” she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Still telling daddy,” he heard her whisper under her breath.

He let the irony of it go and set about scraping the dough off the tray to put it back into the bowl so he could add more baking powder. Once he got those in the oven, he let Max have the bowl so she’d stop asking for it. He grabbed another and started on the recipe for sugar cookie dough. Morty insisted on remeasuring everything and Sol was in charge of reading out the recipe.

He’d had the dough rolled out and ready for them to cut into shapes when Ash started fussing in the baby monitor. “Max, could you go get your sister?”

“Why do I have to go?”

“Because I’d rather not leave these two alone in the kitchen.” He could tell they were both in experimental mode and that was never a good time to leave them unattended.

She jumped off the stool with a thud and stomped upstairs. By the time she returned with the baby, the twins had moved on to adding sprinkles to their cookies. After two batches, he wasn’t brave enough to attempt the chocolate chip. Instead, he bribed the kids with a cookie to sit down and watch the Blasto Christmas special then had them all settled into bed an hour before Kaidan was supposed to be home.

Once the kids were asleep, he started in on cleaning the kitchen. He knew Kaidan would have been livid if he’d seen the state it was in. Of course, he might’ve been too shocked to notice when he heard that they didn’t burn any cookies. And even more so when he realized that they tasted pretty decent.

All in all, it was a good night, and Shepard was going to count the evening a success. Wrangling four kids at once was a handful, but he knew he needed that time with them both for bonding purposes and also to remind himself of what Kaidan did every single day. His husband was truly amazing.

*****

“I can’t believe you did this, honey,” Kaidan praised as he surveyed the cookies.

Shepard refused to be smug about it because Kaidan did things like that on a regular basis. He looped his arms over Kaidan’s shoulders and kissed him, “I just wanted to help you out a little. You do so much around here with the kids.”

Kaidan gave him a beaming smile, “You don’t know how much I appreciate it. They weren’t too terrible, were they?”

“No more than usual. Although, I think most of our success can be attributed to Morty.”

“I believe that. He’s so helpful when I cook…and it sounds like you had quite the evening. Why don’t you go relax a bit and I’ll bang out the rest of the cookies.”

“Oh no you don’t. I’ve been thinking about having you alone in the kitchen all night,” Shepard whispered, kissing him again nice and slow as he pinned him against the counter.

“In that case, can you go get the rum?”

“You must’ve read my mind because I could really use a drink,” Shepard chuckled.

Kaidan shook his head a gave him a playful smirk, “It’s for your favorite, the rum raisin.”

“You mean you actually use rum in those? No wonder they’re my favorite.”

This time it was Shepard’s turn to be the sous chef, but the way Kaidan moved around the kitchen always reminded him of how he used to move on the battlefield—with grace and deadly precision—and both had a way of getting him worked up. 

Neither were too upset when they ended up burning the rum raisin.


	10. Sleigh Bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Kaidan wait to take a sleigh ride.

Shepard shivered as a chill ran down his spine to take up residence in his toes. He pulled his coat tighter around him, but he was starting to regret not throwing on another layer. “About how much longer do we have to wait here, do you think?” he asked Kaidan, moving his frigid hands up to blow in them.

There was no use hiding the smile tugging at his windblown lips when Kaidan took off his gloves and held them out for him. “It shouldn’t be too much longer.” 

Shepard gratefully took the gloves and slipped them on while Kaidan wrapped his arm around him to hug him close. He snuggled into Kaidan’s side wondering why he hadn’t thought to press up against his biotic husband sooner. Kaidan was like the molten core of the Earth and he was desperate for the heat that was radiating off of him. 

“I’m sorry, John, I didn’t think it would be this long of a wait,” Kaidan said, pecking him on his cheek. 

He almost didn’t feel it because parts of him were starting to numb. “It’s fine, I just hope they hurry. It’s starting to snow.” 

They both looked up at that to watch the first flittering of flurries wafting down in the soft white light of the lamppost. He loved seeing Kaidan in the snow. His dark hair always made the flakes pop when they landed on him and it was the only time his cheeks were ever cold enough to take on a rosy hue that accentuated the color of his eyes.

Kaidan sighed beside him, “This is the worst idea ever, isn’t it?”

Shepard turned to face him and cupped his cheeks with his hands. He regretted putting on the gloves because he wished he could feel the heat of them. “It’s not, Kaidan. It’s the most romantic idea ever.”

“But you’re freezing and it’s snowing and even though you’ve been trying to hide it, I can tell your knee is starting to ache. We should’ve stayed in and curled up next to the fire with some hot cocoa,” Kaidan said, casting his eyes downward.

Without a word, Shepard brought their lips together. Kaidan’s were warm against his, which only added another reason to the hundreds he already had for why he wanted to stay like that forever. And they might have, delighting in a lover’s embrace, if it wasn’t for the faint sound of bells in the distance.

He smiled against Kaidan’s lips and gave him a tender kiss before pulling away. “That’ll have to wait because I think I can hear it.”

Kaidan’s eyes lit up as they turned their heads just in time to see a pair of black Shires coming into view around the bend. He had been talking about going on a sleigh ride for weeks, ever since they spotted one go by on an evening stroll through the neighborhood. The tickets had been an early Christmas present to each other—mostly for Kaidan, if John was being honest—but neither had anticipated the date to fall on the coldest night of the year.

It was worth it in the end as he watched the joy on Kaidan’s face when the horse drawn sleigh pulled to a stop in front of them. They climbed in and bundled up with the blankets provided to enjoy their ride around the city, snow glittering in the winter lights and the ground glistening where it fell. He couldn’t ask for better company. 

The ride was ridiculously romantic despite the cold, and the driver was nice enough to drop them off in front of their building when it was over. Kaidan stumbled getting out but Shepard caught him before he could plow headfirst into the snow bank. He suspected it was a ruse because then they were kissing as the snow fell, the city falling silent around them once the sound of sleigh bells had disappeared into the distance. 

The kiss sent a spike of heat pulsing through him, and while it warmed him on the inside, it took two cups of hot chocolate and ten minutes in front of the fireplace before he could feel his toes.


	11. Under the Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little Christmas smut!

The living room smelled like fresh pine and cinnamon. The tree was lit up, half the room cast in its soft white glow and the other in a muted orange from the fireplace. They had come into the city for a last minute shopping trip on Christmas Eve, but after days of being surrounded by a herd of Alenkos, both were happy to steal a few hours for themselves before they had to make their way back out to the Orchard.

They stumbled into their apartment joined at the lips, shopping bags discarded by the door. Kaidan pulled him in front of the tree and down they went, shedding layers and warming cold fingers on heated skin. There was a hint of eggnog still on Kaidan’s tongue from dinner that had him feeling tipsy, though Kaidan had a way of doing that all on his own.

“You taste so good, babe,” Shepard said, after sucking a mark onto his collarbone. He felt Kaidan’s fingers twisting in his hair and was happy he hadn’t buzzed it recently.

“Why don’t you unwrap the rest of me?”

Shepard kissed him as he rasped out a chuckle. “Gladly.” Then he was mouthing down the hard planes and softening lines of his husband. He unfastened Kaidan’s jeans and pulled down the waistband of his reindeer print briefs. He would’ve laughed at that if not for the hardening cock begging for his attention.

He pressed kisses down the length of his shaft before licking his way back up to the crown. The shuddered breath Kaidan sucked in every time he took him into his mouth was something he never wanted to get used to. The way Kaidan trusted him implicitly with every part of him, the way he could make him come undone and morph into a withering thing beneath his fingertips was a gift he hoped he never took for granted.

Kaidan soon had their positions switched, teeth raking over delicate flesh, lips ghosting over a stubbled jaw. He found Kaidan’s hands and threaded their fingers together as Kaidan pressed into him, bodies sliding into one and moving closer to their peak with every roll of their hips. Their names were long forgotten, given up for impassioned I love you’s until they were both pushed to breaking, backs bowing, as they fell apart.

They stayed that way for a time, Kaidan’s head resting on his chest, and his fingers tracing shapes on his back. Neither were that anxious to move. The fire was warm beside them and the soft lighting added a nice romantic accent. They would have to eventually, get back to the Orchard and back to the festivities, but he was happy they were able to have some time alone.

Kaidan pushed himself up on his elbow and looked down at him, his body glowing in the flickering lights, “This is the first Christmas Eve we’ve ever spent together.”

“What about last year?” he asked.

“Last year you were mostly unconscious and hooked up to machines, and the one Christmas we had on the Normandy didn’t count because we weren’t a couple yet and you were stuck in Council meetings the whole time.”

“Huh…I guess this is our first Christmas Eve. If they’re all like this, then I could handle a lifetime’s worth.”

He was never one for presents, holidays, or celebrations, but the last year had been tough with the galaxy rebuilding and recovering from war, and the five before that, one living nightmare after another. So he pulled Kaidan down for a searing kiss, and thanked the Spirits that he had everything he’d ever want under the tree.


	12. A Hundred More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Kaidan exchange gifts on Christmas day.

There was a strange vibe hanging in the air this Christmas. The galaxy had been too wrecked with war to do much celebrating the year before. Recovery was the priority then, but they’d had a year to regain some semblance of normality. And while the galaxy still had a long way to go, they were on the right track.

Shepard’s own recovery had taken its toll on the two of them over the past year, but they were both excited to spend their first real Christmas together. They had agreed on homemade gifts for the simple fact that resources were still limited. That, and Shepard was terrible at buying gifts. Although the night before, they’d been sent out for stocking stuffers for the little ones.

After a mid-afternoon Christmas feast, they snuck away to their room for a moment of quiet. They had watched the children open gifts that morning, but Shepard had wanted to exchange their gifts alone.

“Can I go first?” Kaidan asked as he dug around in the bottom of his bag.

“Sure, Kaidan,” Shepard replied once they settled on the bed, side-by-side, thighs pressed together. They exchanged packages that were both wrapped in brown paper.

“I know it’s not much…and technically it’s not homemade, but I hope you still like it, love.”

Shepard smiled at him then started to work open the edges of the paper. “I’m sure I will.” Kaidan watched his smile grow when he saw the picture on the box. It was a model ship kit for the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the one that took the iconic picture of the Earth from the Moon.

“Technically you have to make it, but I figured it would still count.”

“Where did you find this?” Shepard asked, his eyes wide as he examined the box. He’d been looking for one since before the war ended.

Kaidan gave him a sly sideways grin, “I have connections.”

“I love it. Thank you so much, baby.”

“I was hoping you’d enjoy putting it together yourself.”

Shepard leaned over and kissed him, “I’m sure I will. Okay, now yours.”

His heart was pounding as he tore into the wrapping, one corner and then the next. He could tell it was a frame and first thought it was a picture trapped under the glass. But then he removed more of the paper to reveal the image of Earth strung up like an ornament hanging from a tree, and his breath caught in his throat. It was the card he’d sent Shepard when he was in lockup after the Alpha Relay disaster.

“John, how did you…”

“James owed me a favor. He went and found it in the rubble last year. I know that it’s technically regifting, but I…”

His lip began to quiver and Kaidan threw an arm around him, their foreheads falling together. “It’s perfect, John. I can’t believe he found it.”

Shepard cleared his throat to hide a sniffle, “Things were up in the air between us then, but I just wanted you to know that I thought about you every night. Every time I looked out the tiny barred window up at Luna, I thought of you and remembered our time there. I told her about you, about our time on the SR-1, Virmire, and Horizon. Then I got this card and I thought that maybe you thought of me too.”

Kaidan pulled back to look in his brilliant blue eyes. He could feel the trickle of a tear down his cheek and cupped Shepard’s, wiping one away at the corner of his eye. “Of course I thought of you. I wasn’t sure you’d get the card or even if you’d accept it, but I thought about you. I thought about Horizon, about leaving you over Alchera, about you being alone on Christmas. And I wondered too, about how you were doing and if we’d ever find a way to mend the fences that were broken.”

“We did,” Shepard whispered.

“Yeah, we did. And if we could get passed that, through a war, through your recovery, then we can get through anything.”

Shepard smiled a tender smile and kissed his lips. “We can, and this card gave me hope that maybe I wasn’t as alone as I thought I was. I never thanked you for that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“No, but I wanted to.”

They sat there in the silence for a while, holding tight to each other and enjoying a moment to themselves, but Kaidan knew they would be missed if they sat there much longer. “Well, I love my gift, and I know just where to put it. But I could stand to eat another piece of pumpkin pie before its all gone.”

Shepard laughed, “I could too. And I love mine as well. I can’t wait to get to work on it.”

Kaidan put the framed card on the side table and stood from the bed, helping Shepard up after. John left his model ship on the bed, and they started for the door.

“So how was your first Alenko Christmas?”

Shepard hugged him from behind, stopping him just as he put his hand on the doorknob, and then pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, “I get it now, the holidays. I didn’t have this growing up, the traditions and the festivities, but I’m thankful that you did, and I hope we have a hundred more just like this one.”

Kaidan spun in his arms, grabbing him by the collar of his sweater. “We will,” he said just before pulling him in for a lingering kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays if you celebrate them and happy days in general if you don't!


End file.
